Saudi developments should be seen a move toward liberal economy: Turkish minister
Bülent Sarıoğlu – ANKARA
The recent developments in Saudi Arabia should be seen a rising tendency in the country toward becoming a more liberal economy, so they are positive, a top Turkish official has said.
During a conversation with journalists at parliament in Ankara on Nov. 8, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said that he found what recently happened in Saudi Arabia were healthy and positive.
“Some recent discourses in Saudi Arabia against radical Islam and anti-graft steps may be good on the road to improving the country’s investment climate. I do not see what has now happened there negative; on the contrary, they are for the good. In economic terms, these should be seen as the steps towards liberal economy,” he said.
Dozens of royal family members, officials and business executives have been detained in a crackdown in Saudi Arabia over the weekend and are facing allegations of money laundering, bribery, extorting officials and taking advantage of public office for personal gains.
Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, tightened his grip on power with the start of the anti-corruption campaign, purging the kingdom’s political and business elite. Among those arrested were 11 princes.
Many Saudis welcomed the moves as an assault on the endemic theft of public funds by the powerful. U.S. President Donald Trump said those arrested had been “’milking’ their country for years” but some Western officials expressed unease about the possible reaction in Riyadh’s opaque tribal and royal politics.
